November 25, 2018

November 18, 2018

In keeping with our ongoing theme of asserting that creative expression often flows from a frustration with language as a stand-in for feelings, we offer this excerpt that artist Georgia O'Keefe included in a foreword to a catalog for an exhibition of her work:

I found that I could say things with colour and shapes that I couldn’t say in any other way – things that I had no words for...

November 13, 2018

Author Annie Dillard's telling observations on writing are relevant to creative endeavors generally. As someone who spent years wandering through nature, searching without knowing what exactly I was looking for, this description is spot-on:

At its best, the sensation of writing is that of any unmerited grace. It is handed to you, but only if you look for it. You search, you break your heart, your back, your brain, and then — and only then — it is handed to you.

November 05, 2018

Many, if not most, creative people – poets, musicians, artists – are motivated by a frustration with ordinary language as the sole means of communicating to others the sense of wonder they experience in the world around them.

Came across this poetic insight attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus and which speaks to this feeling:

November 01, 2018

Came across a TED talk by Lux Narayan who, on a whim, decided to analyze 2000 obituaries to see what, if anything, he could learn about life. Though his conclusions are not specific to the creative community, they certainly deserve our consideration:

We uncovered, many lessons from lives well-led, and what those people immortalized in print could teach us. The exercise was a fascinating testament to the kaleidoscope that is life, and even more fascinating was the fact that the overwhelming majority of obituaries featured people famous and non-famous, who did seemingly extraordinary things. They made a positive dent in the fabric of life. They helped.

So ask yourselves as you go back to your daily lives: How am I using my talents to help society? Because the most powerful lesson here is, if more people lived their lives trying to be famous in death, the world would be a much better place.